Kamala Harris walks back Biden's call for a nationwide mandate to wear a mask

Kamala Harris, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, walked back Joe Biden's promise for a nationwide mandate to wear a mask, saying the Biden administration will instead enforce a standard of mask-wearing.

Last month, Biden vowed that, if elected, his administration would institute and push for a mask mandate.

"We'll have a national mandate to wear a mask — not as a burden, but to protect each other," Biden said during the final night of the Democratic National Convention. "It's a patriotic duty."

As Business Insider's Aria Bendix reported, Biden's strategy would include deploying rapid diagnostic tests, ramping up the domestic production of medical supplies and protective equipment, and instituting a national mandate to wear masks.

Harris, speaking in an interview with CNN that aired Sunday, switched the gears, saying that a national mask mandate would not be federally enforced.

"The Biden-Harris position on this is that leaders must lead. And one of the ways leaders lead is they set standards," Harris said.